Enrico Meucci Interview

1) How long have you been making art? How long is a piece of string?! But seriously, I have been painting for over 45 years. I was born in Naples in Southern Italy - a chaotic but beautiful place with layers of ancient art and a growing reputation for contemporary art. I grew up in an atmosphere of sheer determination to get somewhere in life despite any issues or struggles. I used to sell my paintings to finance my law studies. Despite the fact that I chose to follow a career in Banking, which lead me to travel all over the world, my passion for art was always there and I continued to cultivate my autodidactic studies in art and participated in numerous exhibitions in South America, the Arab Emirates, Switzerland, France and Italy.2) What genre best describes the kind of art which you create? I always say that my work is based on the ‘human figure and human nature’. The crowds and individuals I see on the streets of multicultural, modern cities like Milan, London, Paris, Naples provide inspirations for my paintings. I spend lots of time observing…movements, vibes, expressions. Once I find something or someone that catches my eye I get my idea and then I start to elaborate a bit more - every single piece I make is an attempt to capture the subtlety of human dilemmas, relationships and interaction. I have been lucky as my travels have given me the possibility to see so much.3) How has your artwork evolved since you began? My work has become more honest – more and more I can see the events in my own life (positive and negative) clearly impacting the work I do and now days I don’t let that worry me so much. I also now often complete paintings in one sitting of several hours, as I like the spontaneous results.4) Is there a medium or technique that you have yet to try but would like to? I am always experimenting with the materials I use – especially the surfaces I paint on. I have a fascination for using scraps and found materials – like pieces of left over wood and plaster board from building sites, slabs of concrete or chipboard and even cardboard. I would like to do more of that, recycling as such materials that we use in our everyday life. Generally though I really let my work happen as naturally as I can – in fact my family often jokes about the fact that no surface is safe when I am around as I’ll end up sketching and painting on whatever and with whatever I have to hand.

5) What would your ideal solo exhibition be like and where would it be held? My work tends to be very large and the idea of an exhibition in a vast disused, derelict urban building really appeals to me. I think I would then expand and focus on my series of Crowds paintings – which would contrast beautifully the emptiness of such a space.

6) What do you like most about the art world? I like the fact that art can be in anything and everything, and that artists can be themselves without fear of boundaries and without any reservations. Whether others like your work or not is a side issue – the experience of creating it is in my eyes the reason for making the art.7) Which artists either historically or current, have influenced you the most? I do not have any one specific reference artist, I have admired and learnt from many over the years and I am always looking to be inspired. My main source of inspiration is society and human beings with their emotions, insecurities and contradictions. I never get bored of depicting people - there will always be new angles, different kinds of situations or objects that the body reacts to in different ways that create new ideas.

8) If you had to choose just one, what would be your favourite painting? La Folla 1 (the image above) is definitely one of my favourites – a painting I sold last year.9) Where did you sell your first artwork and how did it feel?I sold my first painting in Naples, over 40 years ago – I can vividly recall the moment that I handed the painting over and feeling elated and more than a little surprised.

10) What are you planning to exhibit at the New Artist Fair in September 2014? Over the last year I have worked on a number of new pieces on both wood and canvas…so the selection wasn’t easy but I am happy to have focused on the most recent paintings, which I also completed at a time when I was going through some personal turmoil health-wise.